Uncle Bud - Zora Neale Hurston

Uncle Bud
Sung by Zora Neale Hurston

[Sings:] Uncle Bud's a man, a man like this:
He can't get a woman, gonna use his fist.
[Refrain after every verse:] Uncle Bud, Uncle Bud, Uncle Bud, Uncle Bud, Uncle Bud.

Go into town, gonna hurry back.
Uncle Bud's got somethin' I sure do like. (or "lack"?)...

Oh, little cat, big cat, little bitty kitten,
Gonna whup their tails if they don't stop shittin'....

Uncle Bud's got corn that sure needs shuckin'.
Uncle Bud's got gals that sure needs fuckin'. [ZNH deliberately muffles the last word.] ...

Uncle Bud's got gals that got no hairs.
Uncle Bud's got cotton ain't got no squares....

Oh, 'taint no use in you raisin' sand.
You gotta take that turd off o' grandpa's land....

Oh, who in the hell in the God-damned nation
Shits his turd on pa's plantation?...

Oh, little cat, big cat playin' in the sand,
Little cat fart like a nat'ral man....

Uncle Bud's a man, a man in full.
His nuts hang down like a Georgia bull....

Uncle Bud's got gals that's long and tall
And they rocks their men from wall to wall....

Uncle Bud's got gals long and tall
And they rock their hips like a cannonball....

[Spoken:] I don't know--. I know I know some more verses but right off, I just don't recall 'em.

[Spoken:] UNCLE BUD is not a work song. It's a sort of social song for amusement, and it's so widely distributed, it's growing all the time by incremental repetition, and it is known all over the South. No matter where you go, you can find verses of UNCLE BUD, and it's a favorite song, and the men get to workin' in ev'ry kind o' work, and they just yell down on UNCLE BUD, and nobody particular leads it. Ever'body puts in his verse when he gets ready, and UNCLE BUD grows and grows and grows.

Q. ...is it sung before the respectable ladies?

A. Never! It's one o' those jook songs, and the woman that they sing UNCLE BUD in front of is a jook woman.

Q. Of course, you've heard it....

A. (Laughs) Yes, I've heard it from....